I' m in a Detroit State of Mind

Well, this is just shitty planning. I understand the G20's need for a secure venue. I'm really disappointed that we can't welcome Doc back to his ancestral home and heap respect and love on him, and assure him there are no hard feelings. We know he is the best. Offering vouchers to fans who have already bought tickets is really rude. Telling them "Fans, we want to do something to piss you off, but we don't want to take our lumps financially."

But this is the biggest kick in the teeth. Moving the series to Philadelphia, eliminating 3 Jays home games and giving the Phillies 3 extra. Home field advantage in sports tends to come in intangibles, but in baseball it is an advantage that is based in the official rules. Not to mention that the NL team faces an advantage at home that an AL team in it's home park doesn't get. Asking a pitcher to hit and more or less wasting the number 9 spot is a bigger disadvantage than inserting a DH. And remember when Scott Downs twisted his ankle coming out of the batter's box during an interleague game? The offensive innings for a pitcher should be a time to drink Gatorade, get a new piece of the chew/gum concoction and stew over the hanging change that left the yard.

But while the no-Doc homecoming and 3 fewer home games is irritating, but moving the game to Philly rather than a neutral stadium is disrespectful to Jays fans. The MLB would never move a Yankees home series to Fenway. They would never move a Cardinals home series to Wrigley. Not that the Philly/Toronto rivalry is that intense. Yes, Toronto hit a homerun 17 years ago that crushed Philly dreams and yes, our golden boy left Toronto for Philly, but it's not exactly heated.

Holding the series in Detroit would be awesome. It's a brand new park, it's not too far from either Toronto or Philly and the Tigers will be out of town.

Mets fans and Braves fans should join with Jays fans and bitch about this. I am just waiting for Bud Selig to release a statement about how this is good for baseball.